I think the issue was that they had no plan to really use Iverson as anything but a scapegoat. I mean, you're blaming Iverson for things as we speak when its coming out that Sheed asked them to buy him out midway through the season. How bout Sheed's effort in the playoffs?

Don't you think there would have been a few more wins if Sheed was not mailing it in and actually gave a crap? And what about the other players mailing it in? The fact is the team imploded and quit on their coach both with and without Iverson. Thats not Iversons fault but he's getting all the blame for it.

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Sheed did not mail it in...he was hurt and IMO doesnt have the game anymore to play starters minutes. If Sheed plays again next year and is averaging about 20 to 25 minutes, you will see a more productive player. He and Dyess played far too many minutes due to the poor play of max and amir.

Now to the spoiled brat AI, he quit on the team because he could not get his way. He averaged close to 27 points (2007-08), so no one believes that he just lost his skills in a couple of months. He should have just played and contributed. He is going to be signed by another team anyway. No one thinks he is finished as a basketball player. But no, he could not just come off the bench which was the better role for him on this team. Just plain selfish. Don't compare him and sheed. Sheed has diminished as a starter....AI quit on the team when they needed him. He could have helped. Sheed played in the playoffs(albeit horribly), AI did not because he chose the prima donna route. Hopefully, it costs him in the long run...

As I said AI didnt quit on anybody. You just cant handle the fact your organization is quite low.
When someone visits ur house, and u dont like him. u indirectly explain to him not to visit u.saying " i have work to do, i cant meet up people " bla bla.
this is what ur organization did, they gave AI 18 Minutes. made it clear to him, go away. AI didnt quit on anybody.

I would like to see if there is another all star who would accept 18 minute off the bench.

As I said AI didnt quit on anybody. You just cant handle the fact your organization is quite low.
When someone visits ur house, and u dont like him. u indirectly explain to him not to visit u.saying " i have work to do, i cant meet up people " bla bla.
this is what ur organization did, they gave AI 18 Minutes. made it clear to him, go away. AI didnt quit on anybody.

I would like to see if there is another all star who would accept 18 minute off the bench.

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He could not have came off the bench for another month? He probably would have gotten more than 18 minutes. AI quit on the team.

He could not have came off the bench for another month? He probably would have gotten more than 18 minutes. AI quit on the team.

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There is also the fact that if you look at his production, he was hardly a "star player" this season.

I will say that in my opinion this was not all his fault. In order to get value from a player like AI, it has to be on the offensive end.

The problem the Pistons had this year was that their offense was not structured around slashing guards (even though there were three on the roster), and instead was still structured around Rip running around screens and a Chauncey type point guard getting jumpers for Rip or our Shooting 4's and 5's. As a result, the Pistons had one of the worst offenses in the league.

Based on this, and to address the original premise of the thread, no it could not have been worked out with AI. What happened in the last 2 months of the season was completely irrelevent, because the whole relationship was doomed from the get-go due to Michael Curry's lack of offensive creativity and incompatibility of personell.

Curry said thats what he was going to get and he had told him this. I've quoted this a few times in this thread.

Whether he deserved more is a different question.

If the fans don't think he's worth playing, the management don't think he's worth playing, what's all the fuss about when he's not playing?

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Exactly. AI wasnt going to do miracles in 18 minutes. Just that people want to find excuse and throw everything on AI.

On various pistons forum, not only this one ( detroitpistonsforum.com , or the infopop or motown sports forum, realgm pistons forum prosports pistons section) I read many things from pistons fans..
after the nets game where AI shot 1/8 from the bench, I read comments AI is playing badly on purpose and they blamed him for the loss.
They wanted him not to play ever again.
basically, when he played as starter he was blamed for the loss. when he played as bench player he was blamed for the loss. and when he was totally out he was again blamed for the loss being called a quitter. whatever AI did, nobody was pleased.

on another forum as well, a thread was opened after cavs game "Anyone saying AI is the reason the Pistons suck can eat crow" . A pistons fan reply " Iverson has a lot to do with their sabotaged mental state " . Again, RIP Tayshaun and Rasheed played badly because AI sabotaged their mental state lol.

I might be alone here, but I think DET should re-sign him especially if they're rebuilding because then he'd get to do what he does and he's sell tickets.

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Doubt he'd want to play for Curry again. Need a coach with a game plan and AI dominating the ball probably isn't good for the development of the players you're trying to rebuild with (whoever they may be).

I might be alone here, but I think DET should re-sign him especially if they're rebuilding because then he'd get to do what he does and he's sell tickets.

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Our sellout streak ended with him here. Maybe Detroit fans aren't that into him. And it would be hard for him to win back fan support after he quit. Other than that, it's probably not a bad idea. Maybe we can get another AI-type, like Marbury, or Stevie Franchise.

Our sellout streak ended with him here. Maybe Detroit fans aren't that into him. And it would be hard for him to win back fan support after he quit. Other than that, it's probably not a bad idea. Maybe we can get another AI-type, like Marbury, or Stevie Franchise.

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I always felt that was their biggest mistake with AI, they should have gone all the way and surrounded him with these kind of guys. Marbury is up this year and I think Franchise is also available (amazingly!).

If they started putting stories out over the summer about how hard he's rehabbing his back then all will be forgotten. He'd have to make himself the center of attention which I know he doesn't like, but it is still possible.